Things I don't want to forget

I am in love with Claire's hands. I love all of her adorable body parts, but I am particularly fond of her hands. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because they are so teeny tiny and the way she can maneuver and manipulate them fascinates me. She has always had good control of her hands. When she had her 2 week check-up, her doctor commented that she was (pleasantly) surprised to see her hands streched open because most babies have their hands clenched in a fist for quite some time still. For a long time, she has opened and closed her hands. I feel them on my side when I feed her. Now it appears that she uses this motion to communicate "hi". It's so cute! I have been skeptical for a while but I really think she waved hi to me twice this past Thursday.

I also love the noises she makes. The four noises she makes most often are (this is my attempt at a phonetic description):
1). Ah tiiii
2) Ah boeufff
3) Oeuffff
4) a noise that sounds like she's whistling with her mouth not in a circle shape

While she's upstairs sleeping soundly in her comfortable crib, with a full tummy, and a freshly washed body, my mind and heart wander to the babies and children in Haiti that are injured, dying, hungry, homeless. Please, Lord, protect Your children. You know every name and every need. These are Your babies. Reveal yourself to all who are hurting. Provide a way for resources and help to reach these desperate people. And be glorified.

How to Lose Weight After A Baby

Several people have told me that I should write a book on how to lose weight after you have a baby. I chuckle and say thank you and shrug. I don't want to come across as the annoying little brat that ate everything she wanted and didn't work out and lost all the baby fat, because, well, that was a possibility.

I gained 23 pounds with Claire. I have lost 32 since she was born.


If I wrote the book, there would be four chapters:

Chapter 1: Be blessed with a ridiculously good metabolism. A metabolism that hasn't slowed down despiste being 28 years old.


Chapter 2: Walk. Especially around malls.

Chapter 3: Eat whatever you want, including dessert at least once per day.

Chapter 4: Breastfeed. I think this is really what has done it for me, although the steps in chapters 1-3 certainly contributed. If for no other reason, I think all new moms should attempt to breastfeed simply for the phenomenal amount of calories it burns!

So there's my book.

How does it happen so quickly?!

How does she go from this tiny little newborn...

...to this standing, crawling, stair climbing, full of personality baby teetering on toddlerdom in just 7 months?!

She's growing up too quickly!!!
And as I look through the pictures from 3 weeks old and 8 months old, my heart wants to burst out of my chest with love for her! I make it sound like it's always easy and rosy and the truth is that it's not. It's hard. It's more work than we've ever experienced. But every ounce of pain, struggle, sleeplessness, and worry is worth it. I wish we could have 10 more! :)

Claire at 8 months

She turned 8 months old on Christmas! She is becoming more and more fun with each passing day!

Claire at 8 months....

• Pulls herself to standing all the time! She is super quick at it and can use almost anything to pull herself up. She loves to stand at her toy chest. When babies learn to pull themself up, why do they insist on always standing??
• Can climb stairs! She actually climbed an entire flight of stairs in just a couple minutes last night while Josh was up in the kitchen and I was out with friends!
• Sits on her knees- it's so cute.
• Opens and closes her right hand. Some people think she is waving 'hi'. I'm not completely convinced yet.
• Is often still tricky to get down for naps, which is probably the most frustrating thing we deal with! Fortunately, this past weekend was better. It doesn't help that she can stand up in her crib now. It's so sad yet cute to go in her room and see the little tiny thing standing up in the crib in the corner by the door (because she's just willing you to enter her room and rescue her!) and crying.
• When she does nap, she typically takes 3 naps a day- morning, mid-afternoon, and late afternoon. She goes to bed between 7:30 and 8:15PM.
• Makes all kinds of new noises, although she still is on the quiet side. The sound she makes most often sounds like she's trying to whistle, except she doesn't do it with her mouth round in an 'O' shape. She has a very distinct and well-practiced sound she makes when she wants something- it's like a cute grunt!
• Is starting to show preference for mama at times. We really noticed it after we returned from Florida (Josh said that Florida was "good bonding time" for us. Heh. I say spending time together in the middle of the night virtually every single night for the past 8 months has been the real bonding time!!). She definitely ADORES her daddy, no doubt about that! Josh just has to grin slightly at her and she breaks into an ear-to-ear grin. But there are times that she wants Mom to hold her! Like at the Christmas Eve church service!
• Still gets up one time per night. Enough said.
• Sleeps until about 7:30-8:15 daily. It is soooo nice on the weekends! On Christmas Day she slept until 9AM! Amazing!
• Eats meals 2 or 3 times daily. She loves her homemade baby food. She hasn't shown a dislike for anything yet! She's had peas, carrots, squash, pears, prune juice, applesauce, sweet potatoes, bananas, yogurt, and a dish that contains chicken and veggies. She is a great eater! On the weekdays she drinks two breastmilk bottles and one formula bottle. On the weekends she doesn't have any bottles. She is better with the formula but still isn't a big fan.
• Struggles with constipation occassionally. poor girl.
• Drinks from adult straws. If she sees a water bottle or even just an adult cup, she makes her grunting "I want" sound and leans for it. Somehow she knew exactly what to do with the straw and drinks perfectly!
• Is SUPER happy. She's such a joy. She's constantly smiling, laughing, squeling with glee. Rarely fussy or crabby!
• Adores Sydney. They're getting to be little partners in crime. Like when the dishwasher was open a couple days ago and they both stood there licking the spatulas.
• Wears size 2 diapers, still.
• I'm not sure how much she weighs but I'm guessing about 14 1/2 pounds. We'll see at her 9 month appt.
• Wears a variety of clothes sizes, depending on the brand. She still wears a couple 3 month size jeans, she wears a lot of 6 month size shirts, jammies, and pants, and wears some 6-12 month size outfits.

Well it's past 10PM and I'm tired and that's all I can think of for now! Merry Christmas! We had our best Christmas ever with our sweet, sweet baby girl- thanks be to God!

Trust

Trust. It's an amazing thing. Babies learn to trust their parents within weeks of being born. They trust that when they cry, their parents will come. They trust that they will be kept warm, that they will be fed, that their diaper will be changed. They trust that all of their needs will be met. Without questioning it. Oh, how I long to trust my Heavenly Father with all of my needs like babies trust their father and mother.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs tonight, that of Mckmama's (http://www.mycharmingkids.net/) and I saw this picture of her daughter and husband. It made me think of trust. It's clear this little girl trusts her daddy. Let it be so with us!

Who I Am

I think I have always been quite self-aware but lately I feel like I know myself better than I ever have before. I don't know why that is- maybe joining motherhood put it all in perspective for me. Maybe it's just the result of frequent reflection over the past years. Whatever it is, I enjoying 'knowing' myself and feeling comfortable with who I am. I enjoy not having to pretend to be something that I am not or wonder what I stand for or believe in. To give you just a glimpse of who I am....

• I am pro-life. I believe that everyone is fearfully and wonderfully made and created in His image. Yes, even the little fetus that is only weeks past conception. I saw Claire's heart beating when I was 6 weeks and 2 days pregnant. There is no question to me that life starts at conception and that all lives are worth protecting. I also believe in the miracle of adoption.
• My love language is words of affirmation.
• I dislike politics.
• My spiritual gift is giving.
• I strongly believe in microfinance and its ability to alleviate poverty.
• I think that we do not necessarily have a problem with 'shortage' in this world. Rather, I believe we have a problem with 'distribution'. And it is our (our, not just the government's) responsibility to distribute resources.
• I love being a mother. I really love it. I feel like it is something I was created to be.
• I believe that everything does not happen for a reason.
• I believe that God can make good out of bad situations.
• I belive that true miracles do happen, through the power of Jesus Christ.
• I believe in equal rights for men and women; and that women (and men) should be able to choose what they want to do with their life without being confined by gender roles. I believe a woman can be a 'feminist' and still choose, and love, to be a stay at home mom or homemaker. (Today we were at Target and we picked out a 'glow worm' for Claire. Josh thought it looked too 'boy-ish' because there was some blue on it and not a speck of pink. I told Josh that it's perfectly acceptable, even desirable in my opinion, for Claire to own toys that are blue and not pink).
• I believe that "it's not about me". Or you.
• I believe in the power of prayer.
• I often (and by often, I mean multiple times per week) reflect upon the meaning of life.
• I treasure friendships- new and old.
• I dislike public speaking, but am pretty good at hiding my nerves.
• I still struggle with pronouncing the letter "r".
• I believe in the importance and power of forgiveness.

Just a little bit about me. You may have already known all, most, some, or none of it. On the eve of my 28th birthday, I enjoying thinking about who I am. Because I like me. I think God did an okay job. :)

Miss Mobile!

Claire is ON THE MOVE!!! She officially started crawling on November 18th and hasn't stopped since! She can even pull herself to a standing position on her own. Now that she's completely mobile, she's getting into all kinds of trouble.






She climbs on boxes....



She eats the tupperware.




She crawls under the table and through the chairs.












She plays with electrical cords (we do try to limit this behavior).

She eyes up her nuk and chases it feverishly.

She gets stuck under the table (and like all good moms, I tell her to hold on as I grab my camera and take a picture).

And she pulls herself to standing!

Oh, how much joy she brings us each day as she discovers the world around her!